It's a maddening state of affairs because Britain could easily supply 100% of its charcoal simply by reviving the (virtually) lost art of coppicing. To do so would greatly boost both the value and biodiversity of our woodlands. It's a form of harvesting that requires careful and skilful management of the woodland habitat and it would provide a near-carbon neutral form of fuel as it doesn't require any tree to be felled, only selective pruning. Barbecue aficionados also swear blind that real (or "lump") charcoal is a far superior fuel for cooking than the ubiquitous briquettes found on garage forecourts. Charcoal is almost pure carbon whereas briquettes are typically impregnated with a starter fuel and produced using an energy intensive process of pulverising and repeated baking.

There's no need to rely on fire lighters or lighter fuel, either. Invest in a charcoal chimney starter and all you'll need is a match and one or two screwed up balls of newspaper to get your coals fired up. And it should really go without saying that the disposable barbecue is one of modern life's more inexplicable inventions

But what about gas? As any self-respecting barbecue snob will tell you: gas is a very poor substitute for charcoal when it comes to achieving that definitive, all-important flame-grilled taste. This is because gas just doesn't give you charcoal's definitively high cooking temperatures. Gas does have one distinct advantage in that it produces far less in the way of localised particulate pollution. However, in terms of a wider environmental impact, propane gas is a fossil fuel, whereas sustainably sourced lump charcoal is produced in a much more environmentally benign manner.